google+ leading to 'creepy' omnipresence online?

from pcworld: Google+'s creepy integration everwhere may extend your online identity when you surf, and its social Circles can be very useful and flexible. But it remains to be seen how Google's foray into social networking will lead to a stable version of identity online like what Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt talked up at a recent event. After all, the identity you can build on Google+ right now is almost identical to the one you can build on Facebook -- the same profile, pictures and status updates. The main difference right now is the friends you can add to your Circles, due to the problems Google's been having with letting people into the system, which Schmidt cites as Google+'s biggest hiccup. Given all the hatred for Facebook over privacy and security snafus, it seems to me the issue on the Internet is not just lack of identity, but lack of control over your personal persona online. At the recent event, Schmidt shared some of his thoughts on the newly launched Google+. He implied that the Google+ system is designed for building identity -- the real issue of the Internet. As Tech Crunch reports, Schmidt said Google tried to build a system that you could use for relationships over time. "Circles is particularly well-suited to the contact list you have in your phone," he was quoted as saying. Schmidt is right about one thing. We don't need another Facebook, and online social interaction could definitely use more authenticity. Schmidt said more products are planned for Google+. Let's hope they include strong privacy controls and actually useful applications, lest Google+ turns into just another social obligation.

4/7 defcon: comets, condé, attacks, accidents

elenin may produce greatest meteor showers in history*
nasa admits all previous warming trends caused by sun?*
google making app that would identify people's faces*
is google online piracy public enemy #1?*
to boost innovation, facebook opens server designs; prineville, oregon data center 38% more energy-efficient & 24% cheaper to build*
epsilon breach a treasure trove for phishing attacks*
studio suing bittorrent pirates does not own the movie, records show*
'anonymous' attacks sony to protest ps3 hacker lawsuit*
condé nast got hooked in $8m spear-phishing scam*
georgian woman cuts off web access to whole of armenia*
'the onion' digitizes archives, area man stoked*

video update: US to use facebook, twitter to issue terror alerts*

myspace loses 10 million users in a month

from telegraph: MySpace lost 10 million unique users in one month at the start of the year, according to new figures. The steep decline follows a further round of major redundancies at the start of 2011 and the continued growth of Facebook, which now has 30 million registered users in the UK. According to the latest comScore figures, MySpace lost 10 million unique users between January and February of this year, going form 73 million to 63 million in a matter of four weeks. This time last year, when site began the first in a series of major relaunches, MySpace attracted 95 million unique users. Parent company News Corporation is reportedly still trying to sell off the ailing social network – which had hopes to reinvent itself through its streaming service, MySpace Music and its renewed focus on entertainment content. At the start of the year Mike Jones, MySpace’s chief executive announced that the company was making 500 staff members redundant and slashing its international operation to a skeleton staff.

related updates: facebook wants to add friends in washington*
fmr obama press secretary gibbs may join facebook executive branch*

satire?: cia 'facebook' program dramatically cut agency's costs

from onn: The CIA's invention of Facebook has saved the government millions of dollars.

3/3 defcon: fascism, fake friends, foia

obama joins critics of nonprofit group that oversees internet;

or, obama & china agree: fascist dictators should control the net*
army of fake social media friends to promote propaganda*
centcom says spy bloggers not 'friending' US targets*
bradley manning charged with 22 new counts, including capital offense*
when westboro won't take no for an answer, anonymous hacks - live!*
chaos as anonymous attacks toilet paper, sweden, itself*
scotus says at&t not exempt from foia*
if watson can win jeopardy, can ibm make cities smarter?*
'minority report'-style shopping? billboard profiles, shows ads tailored to your tastes*

2/10 defcon: harsh sentences, trojan horse, hotfile

hackers hit nasdaq computers*
hypnosis by lcd becoming increasingly rampant*
pole shift threatens to cause weather chaos*
child porn prosecutions & harsh sentences rising dramatically*
fcc net neutrality is a regulatory 'trojan horse,' eff says*
motion picture association sues hotfile.com for direct copyright infringement & theft 'on a staggering scale'*
twitter valued at $10b as google, facebook & the social network sharks circle; will they be the latest sellout?*

killswitch: obama admin fears egypt-style revolt in US

from paul joseph watson: The Obama administration is busy attempting to pass legislation that would give the President a kill switch for the Internet in the United States while at the same time decrying Egyptian authorities for shutting down the Internet in a bid to deflate the unfolding revolution against Hosni Mubarak. The reason is simple – the government fears an Egypt-style revolt occurring in the U.S. and wants to block access to the world wide web if and when it happens... While Obama criticizes Egyptian authorities for shutting down web access to disrupt protesters, his own administration prepares to launch a fresh attempt at instituting the exact same powers in America, which as recent history clearly demonstrates, represent tools for tyrannical regimes who wish to silence legitimate political opposition.

related: dhs' new terror alert system to use facebook, twitter

1/27 defcon: congress, connections & 'the company'

s3480: 'protecting cyberspace as a national asset act of 2010' - bill to give president right to shutdown net back in congress*
doj seeks to have all web surfing tracked*
mozilla proposes 'do not track' addition to firefox*
google comes under fire for 'secret' relationship with nsa*
apple hires a military grade security chief*
zuckerberg's facebook page hacked*
social networks under attack as tide of cyber-scepticism sweeps US; they don't connect people – they isolate them*
report: US can't link manning to assange*
police arrest five over 'anonymous' wikileaks attacks*
video: tarpley on wikileaks & assange -
limited hangouts in the service of 'the company'?*

update: internet down in egypt ahead of protests*

1/20 defcon: firms, foes & ipo's

goldman sachs won't let americans buy facebook shares*
google's eric schmidt passes ceo reins to larry page*
apple's jobs takes another medical leave,
raising questions about firm's future*
ellsberg: with wikileaks, google & facebook must take a stand*
trapster.com warns 10m users of password theft*
q&a: threat of cyberwar is 'over-hyped'*
dancho danchev, bulgarian security researcher & cybercrime foe, goes missing*

goldman invests in facebook at $50b valuation

why are taxpayers subsidizing facebook & the next bubble?
from nytimes: Goldman Sachs has reached out to its wealthy private clients, offering them a chance to invest in Facebook, the hot social networking giant that is considering a possible public offering in 2012, according to people familiar with the matter. On Sunday night, a number of Goldman clients received an email from their Goldman broker, offering them the opportunity to invest in an unnamed “private company that is considering a transaction to raise additional capital.” Another person briefed on the deal said that Goldman clients would have to pony up a minimum of $2 million to invest and would be prohibited from selling their shares until 2013. A Goldman spokesman declined to comment. Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor in a transaction that values the company at $50 billion, according to people involved in the transaction. As part of its deal with Facebook, Goldman is expected to raise as much as $1.5 billion from investors for Facebook.

when computers keep watch

computers that see you & keep watch over you
from nytimes: Hundreds of correctional officers from prisons across America descended last spring on a shuttered penitentiary in West Virginia for annual training exercises. Some officers played the role of prisoners, acting like gang members and stirring up trouble, including a mock riot. The latest in prison gear got a workout — body armor, shields, riot helmets, smoke bombs, gas masks. And, at this year’s drill, computers that could see the action. Perched above the prison yard, five cameras tracked the play-acting prisoners, and artificial-intelligence software analyzed the images to recognize faces, gestures and patterns of group behavior... "It was just too sensitive, and we didn’t want to go there," said Eric E. Schmidt, the chief executive of Google. "You want to avoid enabling stalker behavior."

12/16 defcon: strategic partnersnitch

warrant needed to get your email, appeals court says*
'killswitch' inside intel's new processor*
allegations of fbi backdoor in openbsd denied by named participants*
napolitano calls for strategic partnerships in cybersecurity defense*
bill would require government & private sector to require 'minimum cybsersecurity standards' for devices that connect to the internet*
army wants smartphones for soldiers*
yet another iphone snitch app released*
facebook biometrics finds friends in pics*
ufo shot down over israeli nuke plant*

growing up digital, wired for distraction

from nytimes: On the eve of a pivotal academic year in Vishal Singh’s life, he faces a stark choice on his bedroom desk: book or computer? By all rights, Vishal, a bright 17-year-old, should already have finished the book, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” his summer reading assignment. But he has managed 43 pages in two months.

He typically favors Facebook, YouTube and making digital videos. That is the case this August afternoon. Bypassing Vonnegut, he clicks over to YouTube, meaning that tomorrow he will enter his senior year of high school hoping to see an improvement in his grades, but without having completed his only summer homework.

On YouTube, “you can get a whole story in six minutes,” he explains. “A book takes so long. I prefer the immediate gratification.” Students have always faced distractions and time-wasters. But computers and cellphones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning.

11/18 defcon: extra staff & virtual property

fbi brass ask google, facebook to expand wiretaps*
google vp issues stark internet warning*
youtube hiring extra staff to tackle al-qaeda videos*
state-led cyberterror set to rise: report*
gates: huge threat of cyber attack*
cyber experts have proof china hijacked US-based internet traffic*
searching for news is riskier than searching for porn, study says*
man made 1/2-a-mil on virtual property*
x-37b secret US space plane may be too mysterious*

10/28 defcon: the dark ages & leaking data

one emp burst and the world goes dark*
emp legislation awaits senate action*
communication with 50 nuke missiles dropped in icbm snafu*
feds let google off with warning for wifi–sniffing cars*
google admits street view cars took emails & passwords from computers*
myspace, apps leak user data*
limewire shutters file-sharing services after riaa win*
secret button sequence bypasses iphone security*
netflix admits streaming is the future as system crashes -
netflix now accounts for 20% of downstream bandwidth during peak*
nov30: the day the govt seizes control of the net?*
white house adviser: US must prepare for asteroid*
video: watch fleet of lights at pennsylvania/delaware line*

10/21 defcon: do-it-yourself domestic domains

US says military can respond to domestic cyberthreats*
cyberspace is the new domain of warfare*
cybercom operational this month*
enormous ring developing on the sun*
planetary defense coordination office proposed to fight asteroids*
facebook 'encourages to children to spread gossip & insults'*
video: father & son film outer space, do-it-yourself style*
developing: wikileaks claims to be under attack, calls press conference*
update: wikileaks plans 'major' announcement in europe*

corps & govts: violating privacy with legal ease

google this: the price of violating privacy
from national post: Google Inc. violated Canadian privacy law by collecting personal information from unsecured wireless networks across the country for its Street View service, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner said Tuesday.

“Our investigation shows that Google did capture personal information - and, in some cases, highly sensitive personal information such as complete emails,” said Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, in a statement. “This incident was a serious violation of Canadians’ privacy rights,” she said.

Noting that thousands of Canadians were likely affected, Ms. Stoddart said personal information collected by Google’s iconic Street View cars included complete emails, email addresses, user names and passwords, names and residential telephone numbers and addresses. Some particularly sensitive information was also inadvertently captured, such as a list of people suffering from certain medical conditions complete with their full names and contact information...

Ms. Stoddart has given the world’s largest search engine a deadline of Feb. 1 to delete all offending Canadian data. She said her office will allow Google to keep any data relevant to ongoing legal proceedings as long as the data are secured and access is restricted. The company, which has already secured and restricted access to the Canadian payload data, is currently facing a number of lawsuits in the United States related to its Street View data-collection methods.

judge clears captcha-breaking case for criminal trial

eu may propose criminal sanctions, fines for data privacy cases
from bloomberg: European Union regulators may propose expanded criminal penalties to enforce data protection rules that limit what companies and governments can do with personal information. People should also have the right to have their details deleted and to remove lists of friends, photos or medical records, according to a European Commission document obtained by Bloomberg. The proposals may also make it easier for data protection authorities and consumer groups to file lawsuits over privacy breaches.

Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. are among several Internet companies that have come under European scrutiny for possible privacy breaches. Data-protection officials have criticized Facebook, the largest social-networking site, for putting users’ personal information and privacy at risk with recent policy changes. It’s “essential to have effective provisions on remedies and sanctions” including “criminal sanctions in case of serious data protection violations,” the paper from the EU’s executive agency says.

Privacy violations can be punished with jail time in Italy, where a court in February sentenced three Google officials to six-month terms, which were suspended. They were held responsible after a group of Turin school students filmed themselves bullying an autistic classmate and uploaded a clip to Google Video in 2006.

military asks media to omit leaked documents - as pentagon braces for release of 400,000 iraq files on wikileaks

10/14 defcon: settlements, citizenship & commercial gain

school district pays $610k to settle webcam spying lawsuits*
dhs scoured social media sites during obama inauguration for 'items of interest'*
applying for citizenship? US citizenship & immigration wants to be your 'friend'*
iranian, chinese computers also hacked dc internet voting system*
comcast pushes bot alert program nationwide*
facebook is 'killing privacy for commercial gain'*
update: superbombs & secret jails:
what to look for in wikileaks' upcoming iraq docs*

9/30 defcon: total domination & digital infringement

obama's internet wiretap move:
just one small facet of total domination project*
video: obama working on plan to wiretap skype, facebook, blackberrys & more*
wiretapped phones, now internet?*
100k+ germans ask google to blur their homes*
feds' requests for google data rise 20%*
net censorship takes center stage in 'online infringement' bill*
the leaked list & the digital economy act*
unpublished iraq war logs trigger internal wikikeaks revolt*
cia accused of using pirated software for drone assassination attacks*
fmr stasi cryptographers now develop technology for nato*

9/16 defcon: tracking devices & small worlds

have cell phones become personal tracking devices?
what your phone could be telling the govt*
fired google engineer stalked teens, spied on chats*
mom obsessed with video game 'small worlds' neglects children, dogs starve to death*
chase's online bank service still facing problems*